A mobile machine may be used to perform various types of work on different worksites, such as a construction site, a demolition site, a mining site, or a landfill site. For example, a bulldozer may be used to push soil and rock on a construction site. The bulldozer, as a track-type mobile machine, includes a tracked undercarriage with tracks on the left and right sides of the machine. Each of the tracks includes a chain formed by connecting a number of track links to one another, and connecting a number of track shoes to the chains. The tracks are supported by various roller assemblies on both sides of the machine.
Operation of the mobile machine inevitably results in wear or damage to various components, including components of the undercarriage such as the track links and the roller assemblies. For example, as a track assembly operates, a surface of each track link may wear away through contact with other components of the track assembly, machine, and/or outside materials (e.g., the ground). It is known to service or replace a track assembly component, for example, when the component exceeds its expected lifetime (based on the age of the component or number of hours of use experienced by the component), or based on the results of inspection or evaluation of the component.
In order to monitor an amount of wear experienced by a track assembly component more efficiently, various wear sensing devices have been developed. Some such wear sensing devices are mounted to track links to measure a change in size of the track link to estimate an amount of wear that has occurred. While this arrangement may allow for direct measurement of track link wear, it may suffer from the drawback that the wear sensing device, being located on the moving track, is exposed to a harsh environment as the track cycles through mud, water, ice, etc. Thus, the wear sensing device may be vulnerable to damage.
In another wear sensor configuration, such as the configuration disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0255354 to Hawkins et al. (“the '354 publication”), a wear sensing device is mounted to a track roller assembly instead of the track itself. While the configuration of the '354 publication may help protect the wear sensing device from a harsh environment, it may be limited in its application. In particular, the configuration of the '354 publication allows only for wear measurement of a bearing of the track roller assembly. The wear sensing device is not configured, for example, to measure a change in size of a moving track component, such as a track link. Thus, there is a need for a wear sensing device that is both protected from the harsh environment of the track assembly and configured to measure wear of a component of the moveable track.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.